MOOSE JAW — City council has amended the parks and recreation branch’s 2025 rates and fees policy to officially clarify that it will not impose an extra fee on residents to support venue capital upgrades.
Council unanimously approved the amended policy during its April 7 regular meeting, with city administration noting that this change was a minor housekeeping issue and was made to ensure consistency.
The updates remove references to the venue improvement fee, such as definitions about capital costs and capital improvement fees, capital improvement contributions within the policy objectives and guiding principles, and the amount of money the fee would have charged venue users.
During the meeting, Coun. Patrick Boyle expressed some concern with the policy’s venue rental rate since someone had questioned him about it. Specifically, he wondered whether the city charged out-of-town teams or organizations more money to use a field or building compared to a Moose Jaw group.
In response, Derek Blais, director of community services, said, “Anyone renting our facilities (pays) the same rates. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in town or out of town.”
Background
In October 2024, the parks, recreation and facilities advisory committee recommended implementing a venue improvement fee in the 2025 parks and rec rates and fees document and recommended updating the policy language to include the fee, a council report said.
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The proposed fee would have seen “modest charges” applied to admissions, memberships and rentals, with the extra revenue going into a dedicated capital reserve account to support renewal projects and reduce pressure on the municipality’s overall capital budget, which is short $69 million over the next five years.
Of that shortfall, $29 million belongs to the parks and rec branch, including $13 million for a new outdoor pool. Meanwhile, the fee would have generated roughly $46,036 in revenue this year and $73,307 annually starting in 2026.
Also, with the slight increase in rec rates and fees this year, the city expects net revenues to increase by $167,730, leading to an overall cost recovery of 51 per cent from 47 per cent in 2024.
City administration told council during the budget meeting that the — generates $1,092,000 annually for capital improvements. However, the proposed fee would have been separate and would have supported one-time projects, such as installing a concrete floor in an arena.
The premise behind this fee was that venue users would have contributed directly to the improvements in buildings or at fields, while the city would not necessarily rely on the general tax base to fund these things, as the levy does, administration said at the time.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, April 28.
